MIT Technology ReviewReady for a world in which a $50 DNA test can predict your odds of earning a Ph.D. or forecast which toddler gets into a selective preschool?
Robert Plomin, a behavioral geneticist, says that’s exactly what’s coming.
For decades genetic researchers have sought the hereditary factors behind intelligence, with little luck. But now gene studies have finally gotten big enough—and hence powerful enough—to zero in on genetic differences linked to IQ.READ MORE

Medical XpressMost of the human genome — 98 percent—is made up of DNA but doesn't actually encode genes, the recipes cells use to build proteins. The vast majority of genetic mutations associated with cancer occur in these non-coding regions of the genome, yet it's unclear how they might influence tumor development or growth.READ MORE

University of Leeds via ScienceDailyA new study suggests that a diet free from red meat significantly reduces the risk of a type of colon cancer in women living in the United Kingdom. When comparing the effects of certain diets to cancer development in specific subsites of the colon, scientists found that those regularly eating red meat compared to a red meat-free diet had higher rates of distal colon cancer — cancer found on the descending section of the colon, where faeces is stored.READ MORE

Health IT AnalyticsChatbots and virtual assistants may offer healthcare organizations a low-cost entry point into the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence, indicates a new cross-industry survey conducted by Spiceworks.
By 2019, up to 40 percent of large businesses are likely to integrate virtual assistants like Microsoft Cortana, Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant into their day-to-day workflows.READ MORE

ForbesThe health care industry is experiencing perhaps its most rapid pace of innovation ever. Understandably, this shift has been driven in part by technology, with new innovations presenting tantalizing value for health care. Yet the time has also come to shift the emphasis from providers and doctors to patients and their data.READ MORE

Medical EconomicsWhile the availability and use of telemedicine services is increasing annually, healthcare providers engaged in providing telemedicine services must carefully navigate numerous regulatory obstacles. Failure to abide by applicable laws may jeopardize the licensure of the healthcare provider, result in monetary fines and penalties, and increase potential exposure to medical malpractice claims.READ MORE

CIOI shouldn’t be here. That’s the simple fact of the matter. At age 44, I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already reached Stage 4. The traditional “cut, burn, poison, starve” treatment approach bought me some time, although I paid for it in chemo sickness and lowered quality of life. READ MORE

Health IT Analytics CMS has finalized a National Coverage Determination (NCD) that will reimburse providers for diagnostic laboratory tests using next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with advanced cancer.
“We want cancer patients to have enhanced access and expanded coverage when it comes to innovative diagnostics that can help them in new and better ways,” said Seema Verma, CMS Administrator.READ MORE

Phys.orgFor a stem cell, the future is wide open. It can divide infinitely to create more stem cells, or it can grow up into other kinds of cells, taking its place in the heart, brain, or other organs. But the stem cell loses something during that maturation: its remarkable ability to fight off viruses.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-infection-dodging-stem-cells-tactics-viral.html#jCpREAD MORE

WIREDGetting older is supposed to give you perspective. But for one out of five people over the age of 65, it does the opposite. Macular degeneration is a common progressive eye condition, one that thins and breaks down a tissue behind the center of the retina. Without that tissue, the light-sensing cells it supports atrophy and die, making it impossible to get a clear picture of anything straight ahead of you—like, say, the faces of your loved ones or anything past your steering wheel.READ MORE

Fierce HealthcareThe government's 2010 savings projection for ACOs under the Medicare Shared Savings Program was off by several billion dollars, according to a new report.
The March 29 report by Avalere found that accountable care organizations in the program operating in Track 1 models, which do not bear any financial risk, increased federal spending by $444 million from 2012 to 2016.READ MORE

Becker's Hospital ReviewACOs are care networks that can consist of independent physicians, physician groups, hospitals, health systems and payers that join with a broad spectrum of nonacute providers — rehabilitation clinics, behavioral health counselors, lab groups — to coordinate high-quality, low-cost care for specific patient populations. In the past eight years, ACOs have grown to cover more than 32 million patients across every state in the country, according to a 2017 Health Affairs study.READ MORE

Harvard Business ReviewWe invest billions of dollars each year in medicines, new technologies, doctors, and hospitals — all with the goal of improving health, arguably our most prized commodity. Yet, investments in the U.S. health care system woefully underperform relative to those made in health care in other countries.READ MORE

ReutersAlkermes Plc has been told to conduct more clinical trials of its experimental depression treatment after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected its initial application for approval, citing a lack of evidence of its effectiveness.
The FDA’s decision knocked nearly $2 billion off the company’s value and spells extra cost for the Dublin-based drugmaker, which has two major drugs already in the market but for whom the ALKS 5461 depression treatment was seen as a driver of future revenue.
READ MORE

MedPage TodayAn FDA advisory committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending approval of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that can be implanted for up to 3 months.
"I would be comfortable moving forward with repeated insertions based on the data provided," Walter Kraft, MD, director of clinical pharmacology at Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, said of the Eversense CGM, made by Senseonics.READ MORE

NAMCP UPDATES

Seattle Genetics announced an FDA approved label expansion for our lead product/program Adcetris (Brentuximab Vedotin) in combination with chemotherapy for adults with previously untreated stage III or IV classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Click here for more information.

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP) Medical Directors Institute announced today the joint release of their recent study of medical director perspectives on value demonstration and reimbursement for regenerative and advanced therapies. Click here to view the published article about the study.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a New Technology Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) for the HeartFlow® FFRct Analysis, a first-of-its-kind non-invasive technology that helps clinicians diagnose and treat patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Under the APC payment system, hospitals enrolled in Medicare that bill CMS for the HeartFlow FFRct Analysis for Medicare patients are eligible for reimbursement effective January 1st, 2018. Please click here to view the full press release.